Abstract
This review study focuses on non-professional (or lay) thinking about disease. It points to conceptual and terminological problems with specific expressions (disease, illness, sickness) and chooses psychological view of the disease – illness.
The paper furthermore defines the term “patientۥs conception of illness” and gives an overview of qualitative researches of this topic carried out between 1997-2009. The author identifies 28 qualitative researches mostly from Great Britain.
Qualitative researches usually have the following forms: 1. verbal procedures – spoken word (individual interview, focus groups), 2.verbal procedures –written word (diaries, writing of the experiences), 3.visual procedures (two-dimensional static: drawing, graphic; three-dimensional static: modeling; dynamic- video recording of the patientۥs daily life with the disease).